The Sick Bird

Have you ever been in a spot before where you saw an animal that was hurting and knew you could do nothing about it?  Maybe I'm the only one.  Whatever your stance on "mercy killings" of animals are I am not diving into that one.  But I found myself yesterday looking out of my office windows and I noticed a small black crow in the drive way.  He was hopping around as if something had happened to one of his feet.  He would spread his wings all the way and look up into the sky, almost wishing he could be up there and fly away from this issue that was holding him back.  What captured my attention even more was that every time another bird flew past him he would squawk and chirp...almost shouting out "HELP ME, I'M STUCK", but to no avail no bird neither great nor small would take the time to help him.  Can you see the small bird now?

This same day a brother from our church came by, we decided to go across the street to get a cuppa.  As we left the office we encountered this bird again.  As we walked up to this bird the discussion turned to helping this bird out of its misery.  This brother spoke a very profound statement that went along the lines of "wouldnt it be sad if this bird could fly but someone killed him because of a broken leg".  That statement invoked a series of feelings and thoughts in me about humans and "mercy killings" of people who have been broken, especially in the church.  Memories flooded me of people that I've known that have been broken or were placed in the wrong areas of a church's golden programs and in turn were forgotten about or even worse their joy and sense of belonging was snuffed out. 

I just want to encourage you with this scripture "When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”  Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”  Matthew 9:12-13 NLT

I for one never want to "sacrifice" a sick or broken person on the altar of ministry.  Going back to that bird...how sad is it to know that he has what it takes to fly...his wings worked, but he needed to get a jump start to get off the ground.  The moral of this story is simple...give others a push in the right direction and watch them take off.

More to come!  Bless ya.

Pastor Chris